Patterns of Democracy: Government Forms and Performance in Thirty-Six Countries

Author:Arend Lijphart

ISBN 13:9780300078930

ISBN 10:300078935

Edition:N/A

Publisher:Yale University Press

Publication Date:1999-07-11

Format:Paperback

Pages:368

List Price:$21.00

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In this updated and expanded edition of his book Democracies, Arend Lijphart offers a broader and deeper analysis of worldwide democratic institutions than ever before. Examining thirty-six democracies during the half-century from 1945 to 1996, Lijphart arrives at important - and unexpected - conclusions about what type of democracy works best. Although conventional wisdom suggests that majoritarian democracies like those in the United States and Great Britain are superior to consensual systems like those in Switzerland and Israel, Lijphart shows this is not so. In fact, consensual systems stimulate economic growth, control inflation and unemployment, and limit budget deficits just as well as majoritarian democracies do. And consensus democracies clearly outperform majoritarian systems on measures of political equality, women's representation, citizen participation in elections, and proximity between government policies and voter preferences.